Softball Preview, Part 2: Wright State
Feb. 9, 2007
It will be a mixture of the old and the new for the Wright State softball team in 2007 under head coach Mike Larabee, who enters his third season at the helm.
While the Raiders do have nine players returning from last season's squad, WSU will also have 10 newcomers, including two transfers to the program.
Leading the list of returnees is sophomore catcher/first baseman Melanie McInally, who was selected to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team in 2006. McInally hit seven home runs and drove in 30 overall, which ranked seventh in the league. Her numbers were even more impressive in conference play as she smacked five home runs and knocked in 20 along with a .300 batting average.
Also back is senior outfielder Mary Jane D'Arcy, whose season was cut short due to a knee injury suffered at Eastern Kentucky last April 4. D'Arcy was named both Second Team All-Horizon League and to the All-Newcomer Team in 2006 as she was seventh in the League in overall on-base percentage (.402) and 14th in the League in batting average (.316). She also ranked fifth in on-base percentage during League play at .479 as she hit .390 in such games.
Four other seniors return for the Raiders this season, including catcher/outfielder Kristen Farley hit .two home runs and drove in nine last year. For her career, Farley has hit six home runs while driving in 45. Senior first baseman/outfielder Dana Boehmer hit .245 with eight runs batted in and four doubles.
Fifth-year senior and infielder Patti Scherer hit .293 overall and adds speed to the Raider lineup while pitcher Ashley Clapsaddle is the lone returning pitcher on this year's staff, having appeared in 13 games with one start and 21 innings pitched in 2006.
The Raiders also have three juniors on the roster. Outfielder Michelle Logan had a solid first season after transferring to WSU from Northern Kentucky, hitting .301 with 17 runs scored and five stolen bases. As a result, she was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team.
Infielder Jacqueline Macy tied for the team lead in doubles last season with eight and drove in nine runs overall while fellow infielder Bridget Henry was second on the team in walks with 16 and played a solid third base in her first year as Raiders after transferring from the College of Notre Dame in Ohio.
Along with the nine letterwinners, Wright State will also have 10 newcomers on the roster, including two transfers in Jherica Williams and Erica Schroeder. Williams, a junior outfielder, comes to WSU from Chipola College in Florida, where she was a First Team Louisville Slugger/National Fast Pitch Coaches Association Division I Junior College All-American last season. Williams was also selected to the FCCAA and NJCAA Region VII All-Tournament Team as well as to the FCCAA/NJCAA Gulf District All-Tournament Team.
Schroeder, a sophomore infielder/outfielder, competed last season at nearby Cedarville University. Named to the 2006 All-American Mideast Conference South Division's All-Freshman Team, Schroeder hit .315 while leading the team in runs scored (29), doubles (10), RBI (29) and stolen bases (20).
Eight freshmen round out the Raider roster in outfielder Briauna Birl (Texarkana, TX/Texas), infielder/outfielder Kristen Bradshaw (Portsmouth, OH/Northwest), pitcher Allison Cox (Chillicothe, OH/Zane Trace), infielder Ashley Davis (Worthington, OH/Worthington), infielder Ericka Faulkner (Wheelersburg, OH/Wheelersburg), infielder Malerie Klingler (Oakwood, OH/Paulding), pitcher/infielder Jamie Perkins (Convoy, OH/Crestview) and infielder Danielle Philen (Tallmadge, OH/Tallmadge).
Wright State faces another difficult schedule in 2007, starting with the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas February 16-18. The Raiders will face Oregon State and UCLA, two participants in last year's College World Series, along with Cal State Northridge, Southern Utah, Cal Poly and Portland State.
In March, WSU heads to Georgia twice as the Raiders compete in the Buzz Classic, taking on Middle Tennessee State, Purdue, San Jose State and Winthrop, and in the Mercer Nissan Invitational, facing Winthrop, Mercer and Harvard.
The remainder of the schedule features the 20-game Horizon League slate along with matchups against local rivals IPFW, IUPUI, Eastern Kentucky, Ohio State, Miami, Ball State and Ohio.
